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Review of the MEPAG Report on Mars Special Regions (2015) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Pages 1-4

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From page 1...
... Given current understanding, Special Regions are defined as areas or volumes within which sufficient water activity AND sufficiently warm temperatures to permit replication of terrestrial organisms may exist. In the absence of specific information, no Special Regions are currently defined on the basis of martian life." The physical parameter space defined in COSPAR planetary protection policy (COSPAR 2015)
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From page 2...
... In Chapter 7, the review committee revisits the scientific basis of the bioburden assays used to assess the microbiological contamination of spacecraft and comments on the necessity of updating planetary protection requirements so that they are based on the latest scientific facts concerning the probability of life surviving in the martian environment. This report concludes with a series of appendices containing the following information: Suggestions for future research that could reduce uncertainties in the identification of Special Regions on Mars (Appendix A)
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From page 3...
... Given current understanding of terrestrial organisms, Special Regions are defined as areas or volumes within which sufficient water activity AND sufficiently warm temperatures to permit replication of Earth organisms may exist. The physical parameters delineating applicable water activity and temperature thresholds are given below: • Water activity: lower limit, 0.5; upper limit, 1.0; • Temperature: lower limit, −25°C; no upper limit defined; and • Timescale within which limits can be identified: 500 years.
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From page 4...
... ; • Recurring slope lineae; • Gullies and bright streaks associated with gullies; • Pasted-on terrains; • Caves, subsurface cavities and subsurface below 5 meters; and • Others, to be determined, including dark slope streaks, possible geothermal sites, fresh craters with hydrothermal activity, modern outflow channels, or sites of recent seismic activity. Spacecraft-induced special regions are to be evaluated, consistent with these limits and features, on a caseby-case basis.
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Key Terms

  • planetary protection
  • special region
  • mars special
  • protection policy
  • water activity

  • martian life
  • terrestrial organisms
  • cospar planetary
  • mepag report
  • life forms

  • specific information
  • sufficient water
  • cospar policy
  • including dark
  • extant martian

  • martian environment
  • sufficiently warm
  • current understanding
  • geothermal sites
  • warm temperatures

  • permit replication
  • outflow channels
  • environmental parameters
  • recent seismic
  • fresh craters

  • modern outflow
  • define special
  • defining special
  • strict planetary
  • updating planetary


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